So Broody Mum is sitting on 5 introduced fertile eggs and we made her a little run/enclosure so that the other girls didn't try and get onto the nest. She doesn't get off the nest for anything and I noticed this afternoon that she's done a big stinky poop in her nest with the eggs! Should I be cleaning the nest out for her? It will mean having to take the eggs out from under her, then let her out while I clean up and then get her back on the nest to introduce the eggs back under her otherwise I'm worried she'll step on them. Is this too much disturbance at Day 15? And will the poop cause any problems with the eggs?
By day 15 she should be pretty darn determined to stay sitting. I think you would be fine. Just be gentle, don't wash them just gently scrape off what you can.
Usually hens get off the nest when needed and don't soil their nest. Yes, you need to clean her nest. Normally broody hen droppings are fairly firm, so when I have this occur, I simply reach to the backside of the hen, reach under, and remove the droppings (latex gloves work well for this). Are the droppings runny? The poop shouldn't hurt as long as the eggs don't get too much on them; even then it probably won't hurt. I've had hens get the runs when brooding and the eggs got completely covered-they hatched. It shouldn't be necessary to remove the eggs unless your hen does have the runs. If your hen is fairly tame and doesn't get to upset with your interference and you're quick, a quick cleaning should not be too much of a disturbance.
